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They called him the Gun Stealer. Even the police were scared of him. All over the city, police guns kept disappearing, and no one knew who was taking them. The thief was a man named Marcus Bell. He was collecting the guns for a secret cause. But no one knew his secret. Marcus already knew the exact day the world would end. Marcus Bell was born rich. He had an easy life and never had to struggle for anything. Then one morning, nuclear bombs destroyed the world. Marcus survived the apocalypse for the next ten years. He searched ruined cities for food, fought zombies, and slowly became one of the strongest survivors. He even became the captain of a survivor team. But the people he trusted betrayed him. Then suddenly one day he woke up as a young, healthy man, as he was sent back 90 days before the first nuclear bomb fell before the start of the apocalypse by a mysterious survival system which was now guiding him. Marcus made a promise. This time, he would be ready. This time, he would survive. One night, as he returned home, the system spoke. "Weapons collected. Reward added to your inventory." Marcus slammed his fist on the table. "I can't keep doing this. Everyone thinks I've gone crazy." The system replied calmly. "You have no choice. If you stop now, you won't survive this time." "And remember—you've only completed half of your first mission. Find a safe place. Build a shelter. Before the bombs fall." Two days later, Marcus Bell rented an old power distribution building. He said it was a workshop and dorm for his small metal company, Pinnacle Bell Metal Arts. He signed a five-year lease but paid only the first three months. He knew the apocalypse would begin in three months, so no one would be left to collect the rent. That afternoon, Chuck's workers started the construction. Chuck was a veteran contractor Marcus trusted—a gruff, dependable old hand who asked few questions and built things to last. Marcus wasn't fixing a building—he was secretly turning it into a fortress. They reinforced the walls, installed a heavy steel gate that could stop a speeding vehicle, and secured every window with bulletproof glass and steel shutters. They also built a clean water system, fuel storage, generators, and batteries so the shelter could survive for months without outside help. The money vanished like water. Millions in the first week alone. Marcus didn't blink. Then, one afternoon, something happened that changed everything. Director Warren walked into the yard — and behind him came two soldiers. They were from the district armed forces, there to inspect the park's old civil-defense facilities. And They told Marcus something shocking—a forgotten underground air-raid shelter was hidden beneath his own garage. He had been working there for two weeks without ever knowing it was there. The officers said the shelter was military business. They would open it, inspect it, and seal it back up. Then the captain left — and a young officer, Lt. Lee, stayed behind to do the work. Lieutenant Lee found a hidden section of the garage wall and called in soldiers. They drilled through the concrete and uncovered a short tunnel leading to a huge rusty blast door. They forced it open for the first time in thirty years. Behind it was a massive underground shelter, hidden in complete darkness. Lee politely told Marcus that civilians were not allowed inside. But Marcus had already seen the hidden underground entrance, the long ramp leading down, and a guard post with maps of the shelter. He went back upstairs and quietly started making his own plans. Marcus realized something important. The underground shelter was only separated from his garage by a thin brick wall. If he could break through and connect his shelter to it, he would have the safest place to survive the apocalypse. That evening after the military trucks leftt. Marcus lay down and carefully went through his memories of the future, remembering exactly what was about to happen. In two months, war would begin. Then the first nuclear bomb would fall, followed by thousands more that destroyed cities and covered the sky with dust. A year later, the survivors would return to a world filled with mutated monsters, deadly plants, and zombies. Marcus knew what was coming, and this time, he would be ready. The next morning, eight military trucks arrived at Marcus's building. Lieutenant Lee said they were there to remove old supplies and bring in new equipment for the underground shelter. Marcus watched the trucks drive deep underground and realized the hidden shelter beneath his building was much bigger than he had imagined. Marcus then bought expensive metalworking machines to make his metal company look real. The system showed that the workshop, water, and power were finished, but housing, food, and storage were still incomplete. In just two weeks, he had already spent millions, and the shelter was still far from ready. He realized he would need more workers to finish everything. Then Marcus got lucky. Director Warren offered him a storage unit in a nearby empty building. At first, Marcus wanted to refuse, but he quickly realized that in the apocalypse, you could never have too many supplies. So he accepted the offer. When Marcus returned that night, the soldiers had already left. Old Chuck said the military trucks had gone out once, then returned with even more supplies. Marcus went to the garage and was shocked—the wall they had opened was already rebuilt and freshly painted, as if it had never been broken. Marcus marked the exact spot where the hidden underground shelter was only a thin brick wall away. By the next morning, more than forty workers were strengthening the building until it could survive a massive earthquake. Three weeks had passed, and Marcus knew it was time to call the one person he trusted most. Marcus called Zack, a brilliant young engineer whose life he had once saved. Years ago, Zack had lost everything after being cheated by his business partner and abandoned by the people closest to him. Marcus gave him the money to start over, and Zack never forgot that kindness. So when Marcus asked for help, Zack came immediately. Zack suggested installing a normal security system with cameras and a monitoring room. But Marcus had much bigger plans. He wanted monitoring centers on every floor, a wrist-controlled security system, motion and laser sensors, and patrol drones protecting the entire building. Zack was shocked by the design—it looked more like a military base out of video game than a workshop. Instead of refusing, he smiled and eagerly got to work. Soon the fortress had eyes everywhere: a hundred night-vision cameras, hidden lenses in the stairwells, a secret camera on a rail that could slide along the wall and even peek over the top, and drones that could memorize a patrol route and track anything that moved. One rainy day, Marcus secretly left the building and went to the second hidden entrance of the underground shelter. After making sure no one was watching, he took out the special master key given to him by the system. The key changed its shape, unlocked the old door, and let him inside. The small shed looked ordinary, but hidden beneath the floor was a secret iron door. Marcus opened it and found a staircase leading deep into the dark underground shelter. Marcus climbed down the hidden staircase into the underground shelter. The tunnel was dry, brightly painted, and lit with small lights, showing that the soldiers had worked there only a few days earlier. He walked deeper underground until he found a red metal box on the wall. Using the master key, Marcus opened the box and found a map of the underground shelter, an old flashlight, and the main power switch. He decided not to turn the power on. If he did, the military might notice and come to investigate. For now, it was safer to stay hidden. The map showed that the underground shelter was built for 200 to 300 people, but it had food and supplies for only a few weeks. Marcus knew that would never be enough to survive the apocalypse. He walked farther until he reached a huge steel blast door. It was locked with a special military lock that even his master key couldn't open. Marcus knew he couldn't get through yet, but he was determined to find another way. Back above ground, Marcus's shelter was almost complete. It now had strong walls, clean water, electricity, and a kitchen that could feed fifty people. The system showed that nine of the twelve tasks were finished. Only storage, sleeping rooms, and defensive weapons were left. The biggest problem was weapons. It was almost impossible to buy guns legally. His plan was to make weapons himself once his workshop was ready, but until then he had no safe way to arm the shelter. Marcus secretly searched overseas using a VPN and found a community of antique weapon experts. There, he found old bolt-action rifle designs that used simple, easy-to-find ammunition, making them perfect for life after the apocalypse. He then contacted a German gunsmith who agreed to build the rifles and secretly smuggle them into the country. Marcus placed the order and hoped the weapons would arrive before the war began. Marcus filled his warehouses with fuel, tools, building materials, food, and other survival supplies. He also stocked a medical room with antibiotics, bandages, and anti-radiation medicine, knowing these would become priceless after the apocalypse. From his first life, he knew that hunger killed more people than the bombs, and desperate people would do anything for food. So he hid his supplies in three different places, keeping most of it safely locked inside his shelter. With only twenty-five days left, every warehouse was packed with supplies. Whenever he had free time, Marcus made detailed maps of the city, marking every hospital, pharmacy, warehouse, and place with useful supplies. He knew these maps would help him survive the apocalypse. Marcus received a surprising phone call. A large shipment had arrived from Cambodia. A truck arrived with a crate marked "Vintage Motorcycle." Hidden inside were the weapons Marcus had secretly ordered from Europe—rifles, pistols, scopes, silencers, night vision sights, and thousands of rounds of ammunition. After waiting for a month, he was relieved that they had finally arrived.He locked them safely inside his shelter, finally giving himself the firepower he needed for the apocalypse. And the moment he shut the cabinet door, everything changed. A window flashed in his vision: All twelve tasks complete. Main Quest — My Sanctuary — Completed. The system gave Marcus several rewards. First came a new currency called bottle caps, which could unlock special system rewards. Then it gave him a powerful machine and a free spin on a special reward wheel. Most prizes were simple things like food, water, bandages, and bullets. But Marcus won something far more valuable—a Bio-Enhancing Potion. In his first life, this potion didn't exist until two years after the apocalypse. It could make a person much stronger, faster, and tougher. Now Marcus had one before anyone else in the world. The wheel gave him one more treasure — a set of six perfectly balanced throwing knives, a rare "named weapon" of a quality only the future's gifted craftsmen could make. And on the final, high-level spin: a refining machine that could pull useful metal out of pure junk. But the real prize was the workbench. Marcus set up the new machine and tested it. He scanned a simple wrench, added raw metal, and the machine quickly made a brand-new copy. Marcus realized he could now create tools and equipment whenever he had the right materials. With every system reward, he became better prepared—and the apocalypse was only days away. Marcus scanned all his basic tools into the work bench, but it couldn't copy advanced equipment without an upgrade. To earn the bottle caps needed for that upgrade, he filled ten more warehouses with food, metal, and other supplies before time ran out. Outside, the world was falling into chaos. Riots and war were spreading everywhere. But Marcus knew the truth—once the first nuclear bomb fell, the entire war would end in just three days. As he looked around, he noticed birds flying away and rats leaving the sewers. Even the animals seemed to know that disaster was coming. Then Marcus did one last human thing. He called Zack. Marcus called Zack and told him to stay home the next day. He had already left him a box with food, a flashlight, and anti-radiation medicine. Marcus warned him not to travel north and said that if everything fell apart, he should come to the shelter. Zack didn't understand why, but he trusted Marcus and agreed. In his first life, Zack had died after fleeing north. This time, Marcus hoped to save him. As night fell, Marcus sealed every door, window, and entrance of his shelter. He turned off the lights, lay down, and waited for the apocalypse to begin. He woke to the sound of explosions. The war had started. Watching the news, he marked every nuclear strike on his map. Before the phone signal disappeared, he sent Zack one final message: "Stay home for three days. If you must leave, go to Westridge." A deadly radioactive dust spread across the land. Anyone who breathed it in and died could return as a zombie. More nuclear bombs fell, the internet stopped working, and the sky turned black. By the second day, the capital was empty, and every radio station repeated the same warning: Evacuate immediately. Alone in his shelter, Marcus became sick from the radiation. He could barely eat and kept vomiting. Knowing it was time, he injected himself with the Bio-Enhancing Potion. Warmth spread through his body, and he fell into a deep sleep for three days. When he finally woke up, the room was completely dark—but Marcus could see everything clearly. He felt stronger than ever before. The system showed him what he'd become: Strength 4. Stamina 5. Agility 8. Intelligence 5 — Marcus checked his new abilities. His strength, stamina, agility, and intelligence were now all higher than a normal person's, and his speed was almost twice as fast. The potion had also given him two rare talents. The first was a Special Physique, which made the potion much more powerful and would even allow him to survive a second dose that would kill anyone else. The second was a calm and fearless mind. No matter how dangerous the situation became, Marcus would never panic or freeze. The weak man he had once been was gone. Marcus Bell had become something far stronger, and this was only the beginning. In his first life, Marcus survived in Airport Town, where food became scarce after six months. To survive, he joined dangerous supply missions into the ruined cities, where people first encountered radiation zombies. By staying careful and making smart decisions, Marcus survived, became a team captain, and earned a reputation for bringing his team home alive. As the radiation slowly faded, some people began developing superhuman abilities. Scientists learned to create powerful enhancement drugs from mutated creatures, giving people incredible powers. Soon, strength became more important than guns. Marcus also became stronger. His first ability, Burst, gave him incredible speed and power. Fighting with a steel staff, he became one of the strongest fighters in Airport Town and earned the nickname Monkey King. But the leaders of Airport Town were selfish and betrayed the people they were supposed to protect. They even betrayed him. After getting a second chance, Marcus made one promise to himself—he would never return to Airport Town again. He shook off the memories and got to work. Marcus checked every door, air filter, and seal to make sure everything was working.He put on a hazmat suit and stepped outside for the first time. His shelter had survived the bombing, but radioactive dust covered everything. He spent two days cleaning the roof, walls, and air vents because breathing the dust could still make him seriously sick. That night, Marcus enjoyed a hot meal and remembered how, in his first life, he had survived on dry biscuits in Airport Town. Outside, the entire area was deserted. While exploring, he found an abandoned military jeep, which would be perfect for traveling through the ruined world. Then the system spoke, handing him a new task: "The buildings around your shelter may still be dangerous. Search every building and make sure the entire area is safe." Marcus almost smiled. The system never let him rest. So he armed himself — rifle across his chest, pistol on his hip, blade at his side — and stepped out along the wall of the vast, silent park. Six large buildings, a dozen smaller ones, all dark and waiting. He couldn't leave the area for months, so he'd do the one thing he could: clear it, room by room, and make sure nothing was hiding in the dark with him. He had no idea what was already waiting in one of those buildings. Marcus searched every building in the empty park, one room at a time. With his pistol, flashlight, and master key, he carefully checked every corner, every closet, and every locked room. He knew that missing even one hidden monster could cost him his life. After clearing each building, he sealed the doors and marked it with a large "S" to show it was safe. A week passed without finding anything dangerous, but Marcus stayed alert because the system had warned him that the park was still not completely safe. Then he reached the restaurant. It was a strange glass building, and through the windows Marcus could see that it was empty. But when he went to the back, he noticed something strange. A refrigerated delivery truck was parked behind a restaurant that had been closed for weeks. Marcus immediately knew something wasn't right. Marcus's instincts told him something was wrong. He used the master key to unlock the back door and found a large pool of dried black blood on the floor. Marcus attached the silencer to his pistol, switched on his flashlight, and slowly pushed the door open. The building was completely silent. A trail of dried blood and huge paw prints led down the hallway. Then, at the far end, something started moving. It was once a dog. Now it had become a giant monster, over six feet long, covered in thick dirty fur, with a huge mouth full of sharp teeth and glowing red eyes staring straight at Marcus. The radiation had already begun turning animals into deadly creatures. Marcus stayed completely calm. Years of surviving the apocalypse had taught him never to panic. As the monster charged, he quickly stepped aside, shined his flashlight into its eyes, and opened fire. His bullets badly wounded the creature, then he slammed the heavy door shut just before it could reach him. The monster crashed into the steel door again and again, shaking the whole building. Marcus calmly walked back, picked up his rifle, aimed at the door, and waited. The monster had lost too much blood. He knew it would soon die on its own. Fifteen minutes later, Marcus opened the door and found the monster dead. It had kept crashing into the strong steel door until it bled to death. Inside the restaurant, Marcus realized what had happened. A delivery driver had entered with a key and was killed by the trapped monster. The creature had survived by eating the body and the frozen food inside. Marcus knew this was a Level 2 mutated beast, much more dangerous than a normal zombie. Before leaving, Marcus cut open the monster's head and removed a small white gland. From his first life, he knew this rare organ would one day be used to create enhancement drugs that gave people superhuman abilities. He couldn't use it yet, but he decided to collect every one he found. Marcus buried the monster, cleaned the restaurant, and took all the useful supplies back to his shelter, including rice, flour, pasta, spices, and cooking utensils. Once he finished searching every building in the park, the system rewarded him for completing the mission. Mission Complete. Reward: 100 bottle caps. His first monster kill of the new world — and his first real step toward the power that was coming. The system then gave Marcus a new mission: explore the sealed underground shelter beneath his garage. But Marcus decided to leave it for later. First, he had to deal with a much more dangerous problem—something happening inside his own body. In his first life, Marcus had become one of the strongest fighters. He still remembered a special training technique that future scientists had created to make awakened humans even stronger. The training improved not only the body but also the organs from the inside. Marcus started practicing it years before anyone else knew it existed. After only three days, he could already feel a powerful energy, called Qi, flowing through his body. And that was the problem. Marcus's new body was not ready for this powerful energy. It was built for speed, not for handling so much strength. Normally, the training would take months, but his Qi was already growing stronger on its own, even while he slept. Marcus knew the danger. If he did nothing, the growing energy would become too much for his body to handle. Within six months, it would destroy him from the inside. Marcus found a strange solution. He found a rare training method that didn't require a powerful body. Instead of using energy to fight, it used that energy to heal injuries, remove poison, and save lives. It was known as the Healer's Path. Marcus found it ironic. In his first life, he was a famous warrior known as the Monkey King. Now, to survive, he had to follow the path of a healer instead of a fighter. The more Marcus thought about it, the more he realized how valuable a healer could be. Healers recovered quickly from poison, radiation, and injuries, making them extremely hard to kill. In the future, every survivor settlement protected its healers because they could save countless lives. Very few people chose this path because it was slow and gave almost no fighting ability. But Marcus had a huge advantage. He was starting years before everyone else, he had knowledge from his first life, and his Qi kept growing even while he slept. He believed he could become the strongest healer the world had ever seen. Marcus changed his training and began following the Healer's Path. Every day he trained hard, building both his body and his Qi. After a month, he could already feel the difference. His body became stronger, his organs healthier, and his resistance to radiation improved. One morning, Marcus stepped outside, looked at the radiation meter on his chest, and frowned. Marcus noticed something impossible. The radiation levels were slowly dropping. In his first life, the radiation had stayed deadly for two years, but now it was already getting weaker after only two months. There were no plants nearby, still the radiation was dropping.. Marcus looked up at the dark, ash-filled sky and realized something had changed. This second life was not following the future he remembered, and he had no idea why. Something in this world was different this time. He just didn't know what — yet. Marcus spent the day setting up security cameras across the park so he could watch the entire area from one control room. Now, nothing could sneak up on him without being seen. As he worked, he felt something land on his mask. He looked up and saw snow falling from the gray sky. Marcus immediately remembered what came next. In his first life, the temperature had dropped to -40°C, and thousands of people had frozen to death. The deadly nuclear winter had begun. Marcus quickly prepared for the freezing weather. He checked every door and air vent, turned on heaters, and used a generator to restore power. Once the shelter was warm and safe, he finally decided to work on the hidden entrance beneath his garage. He picked up a heavy electric hammer and started breaking through the marked wall. The loud noise echoed through the empty shelter, but Marcus didn't mind. After months of living alone, even the sound of the hammer made him feel a little less lonely. Marcus broke through the thick concrete, dug through the soil, and finally reached the hidden underground shelter. He had secretly created a private tunnel that connected his garage to the shelter, and no one else knew it existed. Inside, he found a guide showing that the shelter was built for five hundred people and had enough supplies to last about a month. He pushed a cart of tools down the long underground ramp until he reached a huge hall with three large steel doors marked Warehouse A, Warehouse B, and Personnel Area. He explored them one by one. Marcus explored the living area and found offices, bunk rooms, and even a small police station with holding cells. In the storage lockers, he found police uniforms, helmets, shields, batons, and several locked weapon boxes. He hoped to find real weapons, but was disappointed. The boxes contained old walkie-talkies, pepper spray, smoke grenades, riot shotguns loaded with non-lethal rounds, and weak revolvers. Marcus knew these weapons would be almost useless against mutated monsters. Marcus was disappointed that the shelter had no real weapons, but he took everything that might still be useful. He loaded the junk onto his cart — better than nothing, and maybe worth trading for a few cans of food someday. The two warehouses were much more valuable. They were filled with medicine, fuel, generators, tents, clean water, and enough food to support hundreds of people for months. Marcus smiled. His own shelter already had enough supplies for years, but now he had a second hidden shelter that was fully stocked and known only to him. The snow kept falling, covering the ruined world in white. Safe inside his fortress, Marcus knew the worst was still ahead. The long, deadly nuclear winter had only just begun. Marcus found the tool he needed tucked in a corner of the shelter's office — a heavy wheel with a five-sided post at its center, the special key the army used to open the blast doors.He used it to unlock a hidden passage leading toward the office building. After confirming the tunnel was clear, he closed the door again. Now he had another secret escape route that only he knew about. When he returned to his garage and finished cleaning up, the system gave him a new message. Exploration complete."The underground shelter has now become the second basement level of your shelter. Reward: 200 bottle caps." Marcus looked in shock. The rough tunnel he had spent two days digging had completely disappeared. In its place was a strong steel door with a secure lock, perfectly built into his garage. The system had rebuilt the entrance, replaced the old tunnel with solid concrete, and fully connected the underground bunker to his shelter. It now looked as if the hidden shelter had always been part of his fortress. He set his own code, hid the door behind tool cabinets, and turned back to survival. The nuclear winter grew worse. Every day, Marcus cleared the radioactive snow from his roof and yard because it could damage his shelter and poison the land. He knew this was why the world would soon run out of food. Thinking ahead, Marcus planned to clear the roads and remove the poisoned top layer of soil so he could grow crops in the future. His supplies would not last forever, so he had to prepare now. Two months passed. The weather stayed freezing, but the radiation was disappearing much faster than Marcus remembered. Every day, he inspected the walls, gates, and air seals to make sure the shelter stayed secure. He had turned the main entrance into a steel maze that could trap zombies but still allowed people to enter safely. Marcus even left a walkie-talkie and a warning sign at the gate so any friendly survivor could contact him. Five months passed, and no survivor ever contacted Marcus. He was completely alone in the frozen world. During one of his patrols, he finally earned 500 bottle caps. He immediately used them to upgrade his workbench. The machine transformed into a more advanced version with many new blueprints, although most of them were still simple items like kitchen knives and pressure cookers. Marcus placed his Colt pistol on the upgraded machine. This time, it successfully scanned every part of the gun and saved them as blueprints. Using metal and wood, the machine could now make replacement gun parts whenever he needed them. But it still had limits. It could only make simple parts, one at a time. It couldn't build electronic components, and it couldn't make bullets because it was unable to produce gunpowder. Marcus sat back, powerful and prepared, with a decade of supplies, two hidden fortresses, and a machine that could rebuild almost anything. And not one other person in the world to share it with. The silence, he was starting to realize, might be the hardest thing to survive of all. Six months after the first nuclear bomb, Marcus had settled into a daily routine. Every morning, he cleared the radioactive snow from his roof and yard. He knew the nuclear winter would last a full year and bury the world under deep snow. Every day, he also trained for hours, strengthening both his body and his Qi, preparing himself for whatever came next. As Marcus continued training as a healer, he noticed something unusual. His Qi didn't leave his body. Instead, it spread through his muscles, organs, and blood, slowly making him stronger from the inside. His body became healthier, recovered faster, and could endure much more than before. The biggest change was his resistance to radiation. It no longer affected him like it once had. Marcus had chosen the Healer's Path to save his own life, but it was turning out to be one of his greatest strengths in the dangerous new world. He was, he realized, becoming exactly the kind of survivor who lived when everyone else died. Even as Marcus grew stronger, he kept thinking about Airport Town. He knew the people there were trapped by the snow and running out of food. In his first life, they had survived only because they found a hidden warehouse full of emergency supplies. Then came the real tragedy. Believing the nuclear winter would last for many years, the leaders cut everyone's food to almost nothing. Hunger drove people to fight and kill each other. More than twenty thousand people died. Then, only a few months later, the snow started melting. They had suffered and died for no reason. Marcus never wanted to witness such a tragedy again. He checked his calendar. It was time to go out. Every two weeks, Marcus left the shelter to explore the area. He marked safe places, dangerous areas, and buildings that might still have useful supplies. Before leaving, he put on warm clothes, packed his equipment, and carried his trusted Lee-Enfield rifle. Outside, the world was silent and covered in snow. Marcus carefully locked the gate behind him and walked through the empty park. The radiation in the snow had become much weaker, and thanks to his healer's body, it could barely affect him anymore. Even so, Marcus kept wearing his mask. Years of surviving the apocalypse had taught him never to take unnecessary risks. Wearing a gray suit that blended into the snow, Marcus headed south until he reached an abandoned convenience store. From a distance, he carefully watched it through his rifle scope. The door was broken, the shelves were empty, and fresh snow covered the ground. Seeing no footprints, he slowly moved closer with his rifle ready. For the past five months, Marcus had not seen a single living person. But that was about to change. Inside the abandoned convenience store, Marcus searched for anything useful and found a sewing kit and a few packs of buttons. Just then, he heard a strange sound. He immediately grabbed his rifle and stepped outside. Crouching low, he scanned the snowy road. About a hundred meters away, he spotted a woman in a red coat. She was struggling through the deep snow, stumbling again and again, while looking back in terror as if something was chasing her. Marcus saw two armed men chasing the woman. One carried a red backpack, while the other held a baseball bat covered with nails. They accused her of stealing their food, but Marcus realized they had been using her to gather supplies and now wanted to kill her. Exhausted, the woman fell into the snow. Knowing she couldn't escape, she pulled out a small knife and warned that if they tried to kill her, she would take one of them down with her. One of the men raised his bat to strike. Marcus didn't hesitate. Hidden on the overpass, he fired his rifle. The first shot killed the man with the bat. The second shot took down the masked man before he could fight back. Marcus had no regrets. He knew these men were dangerous bandits who robbed and killed innocent survivors. Removing them now would save lives later. After collecting his empty bullet casings, he crossed the overpass toward the woman. The woman tried to grab one of the dead men's pistols, but Marcus stopped her and picked it up first. The gun still had a few bullets, along with an extra magazine. He then took her red backpack and looked inside. It contained only a little food, water, instant noodles, candy, and a pack of sanitary pads. Marcus realized she had been risking her life for basic supplies. The young woman still held her small knife and stared at Marcus with fear. Then, believing she had no chance of surviving, she suddenly turned the knife toward her own throat. Marcus quickly grabbed her wrist before she could cut her throat. The knife only left a small scratch on her neck. The young woman stared at him with anger and fear. Marcus slowly raised his hands to show he meant no harm. Then he put her backpack on the ground, added extra canned food and instant noodles from the dead bandits' supplies, and threw it back to her. Finally, he removed the gas mask from one of the dead men, cleaned it, and placed it in front of her. "Put it on," Marcus said. "Without it, the radiation will destroy your lungs." Marcus quietly walked away, but he didn't stop watching. From a rooftop, he used his binoculars to make sure the young woman was safe. He saw her put on the gas mask, use the spiked bat to help her walk, and disappear toward an abandoned university campus. Marcus marked the campus on his map. If people were still living there, then more survivors—and more dangers—were nearby. He knew zombies would soon follow wherever people gathered. Marcus realized he could no longer pretend he was alone. The outside world was changing, and so were his plans. Marcus returned to his shelter carefully, brushing away his footprints so no one could follow him. He knew the two dead bandits were probably part of a larger group, and if they came looking for revenge, his current weapons would not be enough. He took out the old riot shotguns and revolvers from the hidden shelter and modified their ammunition to make them much more powerful. Then he scanned the new bullets into his upgraded workbench. The machine quickly produced hundreds of improved rounds, saving Marcus days of work and making his shelter much better prepared for the fights ahead. Marcus knew something terrible was about to happen. Six months after the bombs, the starving radiation zombies would begin leaving the ruined cities in huge numbers. If his memories were correct, the first zombie would reach his shelter within a week. He couldn't stop thinking about the young woman in the red coat and the university campus where she had gone. After thinking about it all night, Marcus made a decision. He would go there to warn the survivors about the coming zombie horde. He packed food, medicine, water, extra weapons, and set out through the snow toward the university. Marcus moved carefully through the snow, staying close to buildings and avoiding open areas. When he passed the convenience store, the two dead bandits had already been torn apart by scavenging creatures. Instead of taking the dangerous apartment route, he chose a safer road and finally reached the university campus. Near the west gate, Marcus spotted footprints that someone had tried to hide. He followed them to a graduate apartment building, then stopped and looked around carefully. The building was sealed like a bunker. Every ground-floor window was boarded over from the inside. The doors were barricaded shut with wardrobes and stacked panels — not the careless mess of looters, but the careful, desperate work of someone determined to keep the world out. Someone was alive there. Someone smart. Someone worth finding. Marcus lowered himself into cover and settled in to watch. He wouldn't break down the door of a frightened survivor. He would wait — and let them come to him. Marcus didn't force his way into the building. He knew scared survivors might attack anyone who entered. Instead, he hid in a nearby laundry room and quietly watched the entrance. Two hours later, the young woman in the red coat returned. She was exhausted, carrying a knife tied to a stick, and sat on the steps crying. When she heard Marcus, she quickly pointed her weapon at him. Then she recognized the man who had saved her. Marcus tossed her a bag of chocolate. She smiled, but instead of eating it all, she took only one small bite and carefully saved the rest. Marcus immediately realized she was smart and understood how precious food had become. Marcus introduced himself and warned the young woman that radiation zombies would soon reach the campus. To his surprise, she said they had already seen zombies near the school cafeteria, guarding the food inside. Marcus immediately realized the danger was much closer than he had expected. The young woman, Holly Lee, took Marcus to a hidden room where another student, Wendy Wen, was hiding. The two girls had missed the evacuation when the war started and had been trapped on the campus for more than six months, surviving with whatever little food they could find. Marcus took a sip of the water and immediately realized it was melted snow. When he checked it, he discovered it was still radioactive. The two girls had run out of clean water a month earlier and had unknowingly been poisoning themselves by drinking it. Marcus explained that if they stopped drinking the contaminated water, took anti-radiation medicine, and rested, they could recover. Then he offered them a place in his shelter, where they would have clean water, food, and a safe place to live. Wendy was still careful. She asked Marcus why he wanted to help them. Marcus honestly told her that a zombie horde was coming, his shelter had plenty of space, and he needed trustworthy people. Believing him, the two girls agreed to go with him. As they packed their few belongings, Marcus noticed a special map. It showed police stations, fuel depots, government buildings, and even secret military locations. He realized it was extremely valuable. He took the map but left them extra food in return. The trip back was slow because Wendy was too weak to walk quickly. Along the way, Marcus noticed Holly carefully brushing away their footprints, proving she had strong survival instincts. After checking his traps and security system, he finally brought them safely into his shelter. The two girls were amazed by the strong walls, security systems, and clean, well-prepared shelter. When Marcus told them they could have hot showers and a warm meal, they were overwhelmed with relief. After spending six months completely alone, Marcus finally had people living in his shelter. For the first time, it truly felt like a home worth protecting. For Holly and Wendy, the hot shower felt like a miracle after six months without one. When they looked in the mirror, they finally felt clean again. Their old clothes were being washed, so they had no choice but to wear the warm padded jackets Marcus had bought for the shelter. When they came downstairs, they found Marcus cooking a simple meal of warm rice porridge, pickles, and hot soy milk. Wendy quietly served everyone, and the three of them finally sat down together to eat. "Welcome to my shelter," he said. And both girls burst into tears. As he smiled through the moment, a message only he could see flashed across his vision: Mission complete — survivors contained. Reward: bottle caps. And a new one: Clear the radiation zombies in the university cafeteria within one week. Marcus finally understood what the system wanted. A shelter this big could not survive with only one person. He needed trustworthy survivors to help protect and manage it. The system even showed him each person's strengths—Holly was brave and a natural survivor, while Wendy was smart, organized, and good at managing things. The two girls quickly finished their meal, hungry after months of hardship. Marcus then gave each of them anti-radiation medicine and told them to take one dose every week. Grateful for being rescued, Holly and Wendy thanked him sincerely. Upstairs, Holly and Wendy were surprised to find their clean clothes waiting and a warm heater in their room. After six months in the freezing cold, they could hardly believe they were living somewhere with heat again. Meanwhile, Marcus was already planning his next move. Holly was recovering quickly, and once she was strong enough, he wanted to take her back to the university cafeteria to clear the zombies guarding the food. Since she knew the campus well, Marcus decided to train her first before they went together. The next morning, Marcus saw an alert on his security screen. It wasn't danger—it was Wendy, already awake and cooking breakfast. She was amazed by the shelter's fully stocked kitchen and apologized for using it without asking. Marcus smiled and told her to wake Holly. The three of them shared a warm breakfast together, and for the first time in months, the shelter felt like a real home. After breakfast, Marcus gave them their jobs. Holly would help clean the shelter and clear the snow, while Wendy would manage the kitchen and organize the supplies. The morning work finished quickly. Holly, impressed by Marcus's weapons, asked him to teach her how to shoot. Marcus agreed and told her he would start training her after she finished her chores. During lunch, Marcus remembered the future. About twelve miles away, a survivor trading town called Northgate would one day be built. People from many different shelters would gather there to trade food, medicine, and supplies because money would no longer have any value. It would later be led by the legendary Northgate Blade, one of the strongest fighters in the new world. Marcus knew something far worse was coming. When the bombs fell, millions of people had died—and many of them had returned as radiation zombies. For months they stayed inside the destroyed cities, but now they had run out of food. Soon, millions of zombies would spread across the country, destroying almost every survivor in their path. Marcus knew he had very little time left. Once the horde arrived, he would have no choice but to seal his shelter and stay hidden, because even an army couldn't stop so many zombies. Marcus decided to use every moment he had left. That afternoon, he took Holly and Wendy to the shooting range inside his shelter. Holly learned quickly and proved to be an excellent shot. Wendy struggled, so Marcus simply focused on teaching her how to safely handle a gun. The training also made Marcus realize that he didn't have enough weapons. His rifles and pistols were enough to protect the shelter, but not enough to fight a zombie horde. He considered searching a nearby police station, but it was probably controlled by the same bandits. Instead, he decided to look for weapons at smaller police posts after finishing the university mission. If he couldn't find better weapons, he decided he would have to build new ones. He spent the rest of the day working in his workshop, using the materials he had to create homemade weapons that could help defend his shelter when the zombie horde finally arrived. By the end of the day, Marcus had made twenty powerful homemade explosive weapons and added them to his growing collection. But even with all his preparations, he knew it still wasn't enough. Somewhere in the frozen city, millions of zombies were starting to move. And the next morning, Marcus would be walking straight toward them. Under a dark, cloudy sky, Marcus and Holly quietly reached the university cafeteria. They left their heavy hazmat suits behind and wore lighter clothes so they could move quickly. With masks and anti-radiation medicine, they were ready for the mission. Using Wendy's map, they entered the first dining hall. The large room was silent. Then Marcus spotted something moving near the food counter. "Is that a radiation zombie?" Holly whispered. Marcus looked through his rifle scope and confirmed it—it was a radiation zombie. Its skin had turned dark, its eyes were lifeless, and it moved almost like a normal person. Marcus knew these zombies were dangerous, but destroying the brain would kill them. He calmly aimed at its head and fired. The zombie dropped instantly. Another nearby zombie heard the shot and looked around in confusion. Marcus knew that a few zombies were easy to deal with. The real danger would come when thousands of them gathered into a massive horde. Marcus calmly kept firing, killing the zombies one by one with perfect headshots. After his first kill, the system rewarded him with 500 bottle caps. Every zombie after that gave only a small reward. As Marcus checked the kitchen, a gunshot echoed behind him. Holly had shot the last zombie with her revolver. The system immediately announced that the cafeteria had been cleared and rewarded them with another 500 bottle caps. Marcus smiled and praised Holly. She had just killed her first zombie and stayed calm the entire time. The mission turned out to be much easier than Marcus had expected. With the zombies gone, he and Holly searched the cafeteria. Most of the food had spoiled, but they collected the rice, flour, and other supplies that were still usable and stored the rest for later. On the way back, they stopped at two small police posts. They found a shotgun, two pistols, ammunition, batons, a stun gun, tear gas, and some batteries. Holly was excited by the new weapons, and Marcus was happy because his shelter's arsenal was finally starting to grow. By the time Marcus and Holly reached the shelter, it was almost dark. Wendy happily counted the supplies they had brought back and found they now had enough rice and flour to last for two more months. She immediately started preserving the meat so it would not spoil. That night, a powerful storm shook the shelter. Marcus was glad he had secured everything before leaving. The cafeteria mission had gone well, but he knew the storm was bringing something much more dangerous. The real threat was about to arrive. The storm raged for three days. When it finally cleared, the first radiation zombies appeared. Soon, a small group became a massive horde. Marcus knew the time had come. He sealed the shelter and told Holly and Wendy to begin their defense plan. Together, they strengthened the gates, reinforced the walls, and stored extra water. As evening fell, Marcus heard screams and gunfire coming from the west. He immediately launched a small surveillance drone to see what was happening. Marcus looked through the drone's camera and was shocked. A group of survivors had reached the west gate, with dozens of radiation zombies chasing them. They were desperately trying to escape through the maze of barricades. Marcus immediately sounded the emergency alarm. Holly grabbed a pistol, Wendy took control of the security system, and Marcus gave her a sniper rifle and homemade explosives to help defend the shelter. He then rushed to his hidden rooftop bunker with his own rifle. Through his scope, Marcus watched the survivors escape the maze while many zombies were trapped on the steel spikes. But suddenly, one zombie crawled through a small gap in the barricade and bit a survivor. Then more zombies started squeezing through behind it. As a zombie lunged at one of the survivors, its head exploded from a sniper shot. Marcus, hidden on the rooftop, calmly picked off every zombie that slipped through the barricades. Only then did the survivors realize someone was protecting them. They ran to Marcus's shelter and begged to be let inside. Marcus wasn't sure if he could trust so many strangers, but he couldn't leave them to die. Just as he was deciding what to do, a familiar voice called out from the crowd. "Marcus! It's me... Zack!" Was Zack really alive? Or was this the beginning of Marcus's biggest mistake? Could his shelter survive the zombie horde?